25 Books to Read Before You're 30

25 Books to Read Before You're 30. (Or at least try to read. Let's face it, some of them, such as the Collected Works of William Shakespeare, can consume a lifetime of reading by themselves. But give them all a try).

1) Bible. Even if you're a nonbeliever, you need to read this to understand western

civilization. The laws, government and world view of the society are based largely on the writings

in this book.

2) Collected works of Williams Shakespeare. It's said that Abraham Lincoln had only two

books in his household as he was growing up: A King James version of the Bible and the

Collected Works of William Shakespeare. A history professor of mine once made the comment that,“if you only had two books, those are probably good choices.” The professor also

maintained (correctly, I believe) that Lincoln's speeches reflected the influence, wording

and style of these two books.

3) The Chosen. Chaim Potok. A coming-of-age tale about two Jewish friends, one Ultra-Orthodox, the other more modern and intellectual. The book was to me an insight into a  world and faith that I knew very little about.

4) The Godfather. Mario Puzo. This well written story of the Corleones, a Sicilian-American family deeply involved in organized crime, is not only a great gangster tale, but also a fine immigrant narrative.

5) Helter Skelter. Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry. If you want to understand the dark side of the 1960s, you need to read this book about Charles Manson and his so-called family. I personally began to doubt my opposition to the death penalty because of this book.

6) True Believer. Eric Hoffer. A thought-provoking work by an American working class philosopher. Its insights into mass movements, men of words, men of action and, especially, into fanatics are excellent.

7) Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald. This compact, well-written book is recognized as Fitzgerald’s best. At heart, a love story, this book offers insight, not only into the 1920s, but also into the American character of any era.

8) Old Man and the Sea. Ernest Hemingway. Probably not Hemingway's best writing (that

comes in spurts and sputters in Islands in the Stream) but certainly his most interesting.

9) Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain. More than just a prelude to Huckleberry Finn, this book spins an interesting yarn in its own right.

10) Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain. This is it, the gold standard of American literature. Nothing more need be said.

11) Little Big Man. Thomas Berger. If you like Mark Twain, you’ll probably like this book. It is, I believe, one of the two best Westerns ever written. (See number 21 for the other one).

12) Wolf in the Parlor. Jon Franklin. A well written book about the relationship between man and dog.

13) In Cold Blood. Truman Capote. A non-fiction book that reads like a novel. Definitely, Capote’s best.

14) East of Eden. John Steinbeck. By far Steinbeck's best writing. So many people like

Grapes of Wrath, but I did not find that book terribly very well written and, in fact, I could

barely get through it. East of Eden, on the other hand, is a true masterpiece. It concerns

itself primarily with two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their personal

tribulations between the Civil War and World War I.

15) Candide. Voltaire. A French satire, it tells the story of Candide, a young man consumed

with optimism despite the violence and injustice he sees around him.

16) The Grand Inquisitor. Fyodor Dostoyevsky. This is actually a piece taken from the long,

long novel The Brothers Karamazov. I personally could never get through the longer work,

but it contains this parable, which I love. In a relatively few pages, it tells of a

confrontation between Jesus Christ and the head of the Spanish Inquisition and speaks to

long standing questions of religion, compassion and Christian love.

17) War Prayer. Mark Twain. The shortest piece on my list, it can be read in a few minutes.

But it can take a lifetime to fully appreciate it. The story tells of an angel who visits a

church during war time and vividly explains to the congregation, who are praying for

victory, exactly what they are asking from God.

18) Moby Dick. Herman Melville. On the other end of the short­-long spectrum is this book. It

can seem to take forever to read the unabridged version, but I believe it is worth

the effort. Not only a fine sea tale and whaling story, the book is also an excellent study in

character, especially that of Captain Ahab, who seeks the destruction of the “great white

whale with a crooked jaw.”

19) Beowulf. Anonymous. For all intents and purposes, this is where English literature began.

This is the literary cradle from which Shakespeare and Chaucer would one day spring.

There were likely great tales written in the language before this piece, but they have been lost to history. This fine story was written in Old English, but takes places in Scandinavia. It concerns the mighty warrior Beowulf, a Geat (early Swede) who, with his loyal men, comes to the aid of Hroogar, King of the Danes. Beowulf ultimately slays two ferocious monsters, only to be slain himself by a dragon some 50 years later. Echoes of the story reverberate to this day. Anyone who appreciates the Klingons of the Star Trek franchise will certainly appreciate the depictions of the mead-­loving, battle-­tested Vikings. Gene Roddenberry, whether he realized it or not, differently owed a great deal to the writer of Beowulf.

20) The Man who would be King. Rudyard Kipling. Anyone who wonders what a well

written novella looks like should read this tale of two British adventurers who become

kings in 19th century Afghanistan before both meeting gruesome fates.

21) Lonesome Dove. Larry McMurtry. A true American novel. In my opinion, this story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana is McMurtry’s best.

22) Rudyard Kipling's Verse. Rudyard Kipling. I'm usually not a big fan of poetry. But when it

comes to powerful, vivid poetry, even I recognize Kipling’s is among the best.

23) 1984. George Orwell. A cautionary tale about the dangers of large, powerful and intrusive government. Big Brother is Watching.

24) Animal Farm. George Orwell. A good companion piece to 1984, this short book is a fable, as well as a warning to those who would engage in revolution.

25) All Quiet on the Western Front. E.M. Remarque. A powerful anti-war novel written by a German World War I veteran.

Honorable mention:

1) Green Mile. Stephen King.

2) Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer.

3) Flashman at the Charge. George MacDonald Fraser. This has to be the strangest of my

choices, but it contains one section - where Flashman confronts the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade - that I believe is among the finest writing in the English language.

Notes: I did not necessarily include historically significant books. For instance, Uncle Tom's Cabin likely helped to bring about the US Civil War. However, I did not find it particularly engaging, or well written. It is, perhaps, enough to know of its existence and history.

A list such as this is like a fine, old wine. To paraphrase the movie “Sideways,” it will taste slightly different if you drink it today than if you uncork the bottle tomorrow. If you were to ask me to update my list a year from now, this list would probably be more or less the same, but there would likely be some additions and subtractions. Likewise, certain books might remain on my list, but for different reasons. A book that I originally included because of its high quality writing, might later be included primarily because of its impact on my own ever-changing journey through life.